His Story
Kareem Neal was not an education major. He says he entered teaching by luck, after a chance weekend event in the 1990s changed the direction of his life, and he went straight to graduate school for special education. He has taught since finishing his degree in 1998, and he teaches at Maryvale High School in the Phoenix Union High School District. He was the 2019 Arizona Teacher of the Year.
He builds his classroom as a community. His desks are set in a big U so that everyone can see each other, and the first thing he wants students and staff to understand is that everyone is equally important and valued. He teaches in small groups and one-to-one, keeps close to every student, and uses videos, pictures and audio to keep lessons engaging. His principal says he delivers grade-appropriate lessons in math, language arts, biology and U.S. and Arizona history, so his students can learn in the same way as their peers across the school’s roughly 3,000-student campus.
His own teaching has changed. Early on he believed strict discipline and structure were best, but as he grew more comfortable with mistakes and personalities, he loosened up and began building communities around each student’s individuality. A planting lesson for his Earth Science class shows his approach: he paired students, showed a short video, stopped it to check understanding, handed out cut-and-paste worksheets and then let teams divide the work of potting the seeds themselves. He also mentors the instructional assistants in his room, and his principal says he inspires them to pursue their own teaching certificates.
Beyond the Classroom
For 14 years Neal has sponsored Panthertown, a campus diversity club of about 100 members each year, based on the national Anytown, USA program. Each year the club camps in northern Arizona, where students do leadership activities about perception and bias. Members must complete over 100 hours of community service, run a social media page called Humans of Maryvale, host monthly town-hall style ice cream socials, and have spoken to legislators at the state capitol. He also helped bring the Miracle League, an after-school sports league, to the Maryvale YMCA, where it has run for almost twelve years.
He is a trainer in restorative justice for his district, leading four three-hour classes a month on topics such as community-building circles and restorative conversations. Since being named Arizona Teacher of the Year, he has taken those trainings across the state, to more than 20 Arizona districts and a rural schools conference, to the 2019 National Teacher of the Year cohort and to the National Network of State Teachers of the Year. He also serves as a teacher association representative at Maryvale, and his supervisor from the district’s Exceptional Student Services division notes that he develops curriculum on weekends and during summers.
Philosophy Into Practice
Neal sees every student in his room all day, so he watches for progress toward each student’s individual education program goals and checks understanding at least every five minutes, in whatever way works for each student. He measures success by what his graduates do next, and says he wants them to be able to do things without relying on others. Former students have gone on to work in the community, including at office buildings downtown, and his classroom has become a model for his district’s 21 schools. He leads the district’s professional learning community and has written curriculum for five of the six subjects that self-contained teachers there teach.
When the pandemic moved school online, Neal first doubted it would work for his students. He used ClassDojo, which translates languages automatically, to stay in touch with families, posted videos and home activities, and began one-on-one sessions at times that fit each family. He says his students thrived, and that the biggest challenge turned out to be his own lack of faith. He set up a one-on-one station in his classroom when they returned.
“I approach teaching with the thought that everyone in my classroom is essential to all learning.”Kareem Neal
In His Own Words
“I believe that school communities need to be connected.”Kareem Neal
“Classrooms should feel more like little communities than small office buildings where learning happens.”Kareem Neal
“Students are there to be nurtured, loved, and inspired.”Kareem Neal
What Others Said
“He works tirelessly elevating education and serving others, through advocacy, mentoring, and raising awareness.”Richard Knoeppel, nominator, colleague
“Above all Mr. Neal is humble, positive, and a tenacious individual who truly believes that regardless of any situation, he has the ability to make an impact in a positive way.”Shakira Simmons, principal, Maryvale High School
“He is willing to fight for the future of his school community and deserves to be recognized for his grit, determination and love.”Rebecca Reimers, Ed.D., Exceptional Student Services Content Specialist, Phoenix Union High School District
“Kareem is a perfect example of strength, dedication, and love.”Maria Armenta, former student